Sugar has been added to conventional dried and dessert fruits. The sugar softens the acidity of dried and frozen fruits such as tart cherries, cranberries and other dried and frozen fruits and improves the flavor profile and sensory acceptability of the fruits when consumed. In these conventional fruits, sugar minimizes some of the traditional defects experienced when dried and dessert fruits are prepared without sugar. These defects include shrinkage, a hard and leathery texture, a loss of color, a loss of juiciness and slow rehydration associated with these conventional dried and dessert fruits.
However, conventional dried and dessert fruits having sugar added thereto are not readily acceptable to people with health concerns such as diabetes and/or obesity. Similar to fat consumption, sugar consumption is emerging as a health issue because of concerns with, among other ailments and diseases, diabetes and obesity. The United States Food and Nutrition Board has recommended limiting intake of added/refined sugar to 25% or less of the total daily calorie intake.
Applicants have discovered no sugar added dried and dessert fruits, and processes for preparing the same that do not compromise the sweetness, flavor, color and texture properties when compared with sugar added dried and dessert fruits.